Envisioning Health Justice

At its recent, annual general assembly, held in Boston, Doctors for Global Health (DGH), celebrated 17 years of supporting volunteers who work with community members in developing nations toward implementing solutions that address healthcare, educational and economic issues. The weekend’s activities included a glimpse of videos that have been submitted to DGH’s first-ever video contest, for which the theme is "Challenging Scarcity: Health Justice for All." The non-governmental organization, established by Einstein faculty member Dr. Lanny Smith, also announced a deadline extension for the contest, which is now Monday, November 12, 2012.

Through the contest, DGH invites individuals and/or groups of up to four to submit an original, creative video that explores their vision of scarcity in the world today in support and in celebration of health justice.

"It’s our hope that folks will explore the social determinants of health while sharing their perspectives for achieving health justice for all," noted Dr. Linnea Capps, current president of DGH and recent addition to the Einstein faculty, in the department of family & social medicine. “We encourage everyone, from students and filmmakers to anyone with an idea on the theme, to submit an original video.”

She added, “We’re also accepting excerpts from films in the making and extracts from longer films, since the contest is an opportunity to share insights and exchange views on the subject of health justice and scarcity today. And, for those who submitted films before our original July deadline, there is the opportunity to edit and re-submit before the new deadline on November 12.”

Videos up to five minutes long may be submitted in any style or genre, including narrative, experimental, video art, documentary, music and animation. All submissions to the contest will be posted online at dghonline.org, as well as on the DGH Facebook page. Those creating the winning video will have the opportunity to participate in a documentary of DGH work in the field. Other prizes include a selection of fair-trade handicrafts and relevant literature on global health.

Entries will be judged by a panel of expert professionals who include Oscar-nominated director Ben Achtenberg; Jasmina Bojic, founder of the United Nations Association Film Festival; director/producer Mel Halbach; documentary filmmaker Luke Walden; Michael Bonner, former investigative reporter for CBS News/60 Minutes; Tony Nelson, community organizer, teacher and human rights activist; and DGH Europe liaison and board member Michele Brothers.

“Our judges will evaluate each video based on several criteria, including creativity, how well the content expresses and connects to the values and them of “Challenging Scarcity: Health Justice for All,” and the production value and artistic merit of the video itself,” noted Dr. Smith.

Doctors for Global Health is a private, not-for-profit organization promoting health, education, art and other human rights throughout the world. DGH is comprised of hundreds of health professionals, students, educators, artists, attorneys, engineers, retirees and others who, working together, build long-term relationships between people and communities around the world – in locations including Chiapas and Oaxaca in Mexico, Estancia and Santa Marta in El Salvador, Guatemala, Uganda and the United States – to find effective solutions to social justice issues.